Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI reported second-quarter fiscal 2021 results, wherein the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while the top line lagged the same. However, both the metrics declined on a year-over-year basis. Following the results, the company’s shares declined 1.9% in pre-market trading session.During the fiscal second quarter, the company reported adjusted earnings of 74 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings of 70 cents by 5.7%. In the prior-year quarter, the company had reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.12.Total sales during the quarter came in at $1,656.5 million, missing the consensus mark of $1,685 million by 1.7%. Moreover, sales declined 19.4% from the prior-year quarter on account of negative blended same-restaurant sales of 20.6%. The decline was partially mitigated by the opening of 19 net new restaurants.Darden Restaurants, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Darden Restaurants, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Darden Restaurants, Inc. QuoteSales by SegmentsDarden reports business under four segments — Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining that includes The Capital Grille and Eddie V's, and Other Business.Sales at Olive Garden decreased 19% year over year to $829.5 million. Comps slumped 19.9% at the segment compared with the prior-quarter’s comp decline of 28.2%.Sales at Fine Dining declined 30.2% to $108.1 million. Comps fell 31% at the segment.Sales at Other Business slumped 27.7% year over year to $311.5 million. Moreover, comps Other Business plunged 28.6%.At LongHorn Steakhouse, sales were down 8.9% year over year to $407.4 million. Comps at the segment decreased 11.1%, compared with comps decline of 18.1% in the previous quarter.Other Business UpdatesFor the week ended Nov 8, Nov 15, Nov 22, Nov 29, Dec 6 and Dec 13, comps at Darden declined 23.4%, 23.3%, 29.1%, 34%, 33.4% and 36.9%, respectively.Meanwhile, comps at Olive Garden for the week ended Nov 8, Nov 15, Nov 22, Nov 29, Dec 6 and Dec 13 decreased 21.9%, 22.5%, 27.3%, 34.9%, 31.1% and 32,6%, respectively. Moreover, comps at LongHorn Steakhouse were down 12%, 12.1%, 18.5%, 22.9%, 19.5% and 23.3%, for the week ended Nov 8, Nov 15, Nov 22, Nov 29, Dec 6 and Dec 13, respectively.Operating Highlights & Net IncomeIn the fiscal second quarter, total operating costs and expenses decreased 19% year over year to $1,535.8 million. The decline was owing to an overall decrease in food and beverage costs, restaurant expenses, and labor costs.Balance SheetAs of Nov 29, 2020, cash and cash equivalents came in at $777.3 million compared with $763.3 million as of May 31, 2020.Inventories during the fiscal second quarter came in at $203 million. Long-term debt as of Nov 29, 2020, was $929.4 million, up from $928.8 million as of May 31, 2020.The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of 37 cents per share, payable on Feb 1, 2021, to shareholders of record as of Jan 8, 2021.Q3 GuidanceThe company expects total sales between 65% and 70% of prior-year sales. EBITDA is anticipated in the range of $170 million to $210 million. Earnings per share from continuing operations are anticipated at 50-75 cents.The company expects to open 35-40 net new restaurants and projecttotal capital spending at $250 to $300 million in fiscal 2021.Zacks Rank & Key PicksDarden currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Some better-ranked stocks in the same space include Brinker International, Inc. EAT, Jack in the Box Inc. JACK and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. RRGB. Brinker sports a Zacks Rank #1, while Jack in the Box and Red Robin carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Brinker has a three-five year earnings per share growth rate of 21.8%.Earnings for Jack in the Box and Red Robin in 2021 are expected to rise 20.2% and 87%, respectively.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Jack In The Box Inc. (JACK): Free Stock Analysis Report Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI): Free Stock Analysis Report Brinker International, Inc. (EAT): Free Stock Analysis Report Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (RRGB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.